In various applications of automatic vending machines, game medium lending machines, ticket machines, money-exchanging machines and like machines, various bill handling apparatuses capable of taking a plurality of kinds of bills in and storing and dispensing the bills according to the kinds of the bills have been conventionally known. For example, an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-175804 is constructed such that an apparatus main unit is integrally provided with three cash boxes for 1000-yen bills, 5000-yen bills and 10000-yen bills; when a bill is inserted through a bill insertion slot, the kind thereof is discriminated by a discriminator and the bill is selectively transferred to any of the cash boxes via a conveyer and the like; and the cash box for 1000-yen bills is provided with a dispense roller, a stacking plate on which bills are stacked, and an elevating mechanism for pushing the stacking plate up to press the uppermost one of the stacked bills against the dispense roller, etc., so that 1000-yen bills can be withdrawn (dispensed from the cash box).
In the prior art apparatus disclosed in the above publication, three stages of bill storage sections (cash boxes) are arranged so as to be applicable to three kinds of bills: 1000-yen bills, 5000-yen bills and 10000-yen bills. However, more bill storage sections are sometimes demanded in order to be applicable to four kinds of bills including 2000-yen bills or to five kinds of bills in the case of export to foreign countries. On the other hand, less bill storage sections are demanded as in the case that it is sufficient for the bill handling apparatus to be applicable to two kinds of bills depending on users and applications. Upon meeting such a demand, it is desirable in terms of rationalization, cost reduction, etc. to enable production of different types of apparatuses having different numbers of bill storage sections while using common elements for the different types of bill handling apparatuses and commonly using sections of production lines therefor.
However, since the respective bill storage sections and the internal mechanisms such as the conveying mechanism are integrally assembled in the apparatus main unit in the prior art apparatus, all of the apparatus main unit, the bill storage sections and the internal mechanisms need to be largely changed in order to change the number of the bill storage sections.
Further, the cash boxes for 5000-yen bills and 10000-yen bills are exclusively for depositing, and only the cash box for 1000-yen bills is provided with the mechanism enabling withdrawal in the above prior art device. In order to provide various functions including an exchanging function and a reverse exchanging function, it is desired to make bills other than 1000-yen bills withdrawable.
In view of the above matters, an object of the present invention is to provide a bill handling apparatus which can easily increase and decrease the number of bill storage sections by a necessary and minimum change by using common elements forming bill storage sections, conveying mechanisms, etc. and can deposit and dispense bills into and from the respective storage sections.